Regarded by many as one of the greatest action stars in Hollywood history, Sylvester Stallone made a career out of surviving brutal on-screen beatdowns and emerging from fiery explosions. While his filmography is full of memorable projects that have only strengthened his global following in the years that have followed, there are a few movies that will always hold a special place in Stallone’s heart.
Starting his career in the not-so-glamorous world of softcore pornos, Stallone had to endure several obstacles and struggles during the early years when nothing was seemingly going his way. After failing to bag the role of an extra on the set of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, he even considered quitting the business altogether. However, he made the right decision to keep at it because he eventually struck gold with Rocky.
Based on a screenplay that was conjured up by Stallone in three days, the timeless sports drama announced Stallone’s arrival to the world and brought him unprecedented success. The actor’s gritty approach to action movies would only garner further momentum from there, but one of the best examples of his dedication to and love for the genre is the Rambo series.
Having kicked off with the celebrated 1982 action flick First Blood, the franchise featured Stallone as a hardened Vietnam War veteran who battles his past demons while relying on his extraordinary survival skills to make it out of dangerous situations. Over the years, there were several additions to the series, but one unlikely entry won Stallone’s praise even though he was initially conflicted about it.
The movie in question is the fourth instalment to the franchise, 2008’s Rambo, which followed the titular soldier as he navigates the violent landscape of Burma, trying to organise a search and rescue operation while leading a group of mercenaries.
When asked about his initial impressions, Stallone said: “A movie that I’m very proud of – it’s the best action movie I’ve ever made because it’s the most authentic – is ‘John Rambo’. ‘, which deals with Burma, where there has been a civil war for 67 years. But they criticised me because the film is very violent. And it is violent. It’s horrible.”
Elaborating on the elements that he thought would get censored, the actor added: “Children burned alive. That’s what makes civil war worse than anything: it’s your neighbour suddenly killing you. I was very happy with that film, and I never thought it would make it to the cinema. I thought, ‘They’re never going to screen this.’”
Although Stallone’s technical approach to directing this project garnered praise, the film also received criticism for some of the political commentary and excessively violent imagery that it featured. Despite the negative press, it still managed to be yet another commercially successful entry to Stallone’s incredibly popular Rambo series.